


Bothers and Boulders

by tiramia



Category: Codename: Kids Next Door
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 23:16:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12875136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiramia/pseuds/tiramia
Summary: Who knew throwing rocks into a river could be hazardous to your health?





	Bothers and Boulders

“Explain to me again why we’re here.”

  
“To chuck rocks, of course! This is the best place to do it, because the water’s clear enough so that you can see all the rocks at the bottom and find the ones that make the biggest splash.”

  
Lenny and Constance meandered along the banks of the little creek, the slowly winding water trickling past with a merry burbling sound. In all honesty, this isn’t where the girl would have chosen to be on a Saturday afternoon, but even she could agree that a break was needed from David′s overbearing conspiracy theories. And so, when Lenny had offered to take her somewhere quiet, she’d punched David in the chest and run.

  
This was at least a kajillion times quieter than being around David during his rants. Now that she thought about it, this place was actually kind of peaceful. The slums were way behind them, there wasn’t a soul in sight, just birds chirping away over their heads. Even the water running past them was clear, which was surprising, considering how close to the city they were. In a way, it was like stepping out of the world and into a bubble of solitude. She could understand why Lenny came here so frequently. Constance absently kicked a pebble into the water, where it landed with a ‘plunk!’ and sank to the bottom.

  
“Nah nah, you gotta find a bigger rock!” explained Lenny, crouching down and systematically picking through several stones, tossing aside the ones that didn’t meet his mental criteria. Without paying heed to her single raised eyebrow, the boy made an ‘aha!’ sound and finally unearthed a rock that was roughly the size of his head, hefting it with some difficulty. “This’ll do!”

  
Constance brought up her other eyebrow as she leaned forward and inspected the seemingly ordinary stone. “And you just… throw it into the water?”

  
“There’s more to it than that. You think about whatever’s bothering you, say it to the rock, and then throw it in! Mom says river spirits carry your words downstream and that washes the sad thoughts out of you. Goodbye, bothers!”

  
“I thought nothing ever bothered you,” came the quietly curious response, the girl tilting sunglasses so she could look up at Lenny over the tops. She watched as his smile faded slightly and the lights dimmed in his eyes.

  
“Well… I try not to let things bother me, but sometimes they do, and I just gotta let ‘em out, you know?” He was staring at the rock, as if materializing his troubles on its rough surface. “I figure this is a good, safe way that doesn’t actually hurt someone.”

  
“…hm.” The girl backed away to allow the boy space to lift his rock in the air and test its weight. “Is this what you always do when you get mad?”

  
Lenny swung the rock experimentally, trying to find just the right swing to get the biggest splash. “Not always. Sometimes I talk to you, or I go to my room and count the stars we pasted to the ceiling, or I find a snuggly totally-not-a-Rainbow-Monkey monkey to hug.” He grinned when he heard her chuckle; they both knew he had two Rainbow Monkeys and those toys were the snuggliest things he owned.

  
She nearly jumped out of her skin when Lenny suddenly yelled, “I hate it when Numbuh 0.1 stays up until 2 AM and then tries to get me to go on a mission with him!”

  
The air was suddenly filled with the sound of several spooked birds vacating the immediate area.

  
“…what. Was that,” Constance hissed once she thought it was safe to speak again, lowering her hands from the fists they’d ended up in. Never in her life had she heard Lenny say anything with quite the amount of force and volume as she’d heard him yell at a dumb rock. The boy tilted his head in confusion before realization dawned on his dark features.

  
“Oh, yeah, well, this is part of the rock throwing thing. You yell what makes you mad at the rock and then you throw it. Like this!” With a whoop, he swung the stone in a pendulum motion, releasing it at its zenith. The geode sailed through the air as well as a rock could fly before landing with a loud splash in the middle of the creek. With a whistle of satisfaction, Lenny grinned and put his hands on his hips.

  
“Is that it?” Constance asked, leaning her elbow into his ribs.

  
The boy nodded, putting his arm on her head. “Yeah, that’s the only thing that’s been bothering me.”

  
A comfortable silence descended between the two, one that was familiar to her as simple I’m-happy-you’re-here silence. She would never admit it, but knowing Lenny would come out into the middle of nowhere just to chuck rocks into a river was kind of comforting. It meant he was human, and underneath all his joy and sweet understanding, he was still as scared and insecure as she was.

  
“What about you?”

  
She blinked a few times as she was abruptly pulled from her thoughts, and she glanced up at the boy. “Hm?”

  
The corner of his mouth was pulled up in a questioning smile. “Don’t you have any bothers you need to get out?”

  
Constance’s eyes widened a little as she realized too late that he now expected her to do the same as he had done. She hastily stepped away, folding her arms tightly. “No,” she growled, suddenly wishing she were back at the treehouse and listening to David’s conspiracy theories. Okay, maybe she didn’t want to be that drastic, but she also didn’t want to go yelling her ‘bothers’ at a rock, let alone chuck said ‘bothers’ into a stream to be heard by freaking water spirits.

  
Lenny didn’t say anything, but she could tell from the sudden static in the silence that he was thinking. After a moment, he crouched down and picked up a small, perfectly smooth stone, holding it out to her. She glanced down at it, then into the boy’s big, brown Bambi eyes.

  
“One bother?” he asked, face innocent.

  
She looked flatly at the stone. “This is dumb.”

  
“It’ll make you feel better.”

  
She groaned, but finally relented and gingerly took the stone from his hand. “I say things into it and toss it in, right?”

  
Lenny nodded.

  
Still grumbling, she glared at the rock, at a loss of what to say. She raked through her short-term memory, trying to find something that had bothered her. “I… hate it when Numbuh 0.3 eats all the dark chocolate before I can get any?” She glanced at Lenny, who gave an approving nod, and she tossed the rock into the water, where it settled to the bottom with an almost dissatisfied plop. As soon as she started to turn away, another rock was held out to her by Lenny.

  
“I know you have more bothers in you,” he smiled, giving her that gentle, knowing look that she hated because she knew he was right. His tone was warm and soft, like a blanket fresh from the dryer. “You can let it out here. It’s just me and the river.”

  
She stared at him a long moment, almost long enough for him to start fidgeting, before she snatched the rock from his hand and growled, “I hate when my dad tries to cook three-bean casserole, because it’s my favorite and he always burns it.”

  
This stone was flung into the river with a little more force than the one before. Another rock was held out to her. She grabbed it without hesitation, her voice getting louder with every word.

  
“I hate that Numbuh 0.2 leaves his toenails on the bathroom sink.”

  
Plunk!

  
“It’s dumb when Mr. Benetiz says I can do more with my homework even though I’m already trying my best.”

  
Plunk!

  
“No one ever told me that the science fair was going to be rigged, I mean who actually votes for a baking soda volcano?!”

  
PLUNK!

  
“I wish Jerry would just mind his own business instead of trying to copy my 2x4 designs!”

  
PLUNK!

  
“AND I WISH-” she yelled as she grabbed the nearest object, “-THAT A NEW EPISODE OF STEPHEN GALAXY WOULD COME OUT ALREADY!”

  
“Wait, Consta-AAA!”

  
KA-SPLOOSH!

  
Water splashed onto her sunglasses and she blinked.

  
That wasn’t a rock she’d just thrown into the water.

  
That was Lenny.

  
Constance stared at Lenny, who was sitting in the creek, dark patches soaking through his yellow shirt. Very slowly, the girl breathed in and out through her teeth, making a hissing sound that was laden with concern, anxiety, and embarrassment. “Um… Sorry?” she shrugged, unsure of whether she should extend her hand to help him up or throw some more rocks on him.

  
Lenny blinked once, water dripping from his dreadlock hair. Then, slowly but surely, he smiled. A small sound bubbled up from him, then another, until the boy was giggling. His giggles soon turned into genuine laughter, the boy throwing his head back and laughing without abandon.

  
…what a nerd.

  
She couldn’t help but share in his laughter, not because she was happy with his situation, but because he had managed to find joy in something as inconvenient as getting thrown into a river.

  
It took some time for their laughter to die down long enough for Lenny to pull himself out of the water, but she finally stuck out her hand and pulled him up. He flopped on the creek bank, giggle-snorting as he wrung out his hair. Constance plopped next to him, wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

  
“Got all your bothers out?” joked Lenny, elbowing her arm with a snicker.

  
Constance grinned back at him before her expression softened into something that made him pause. Quietly, she picked up a small, smooth stone and held it close to her mouth, whispering something before tossing the rock into the creek.

  
Lenny watched it settle against the large rock he’d thrown in earlier. “What did you say to that rock?”

  
“Nothing important,” she lied, and though he knew it was a lie, he made no response besides scooting closer. “What are you doing?”

  
“Nothing important,” he lied, and though she knew it was a lie, she made no response besides leaning against his arm.

  
The river carried her words from that rock downstream, where it mingled with other bothers that had been tossed into the water. The river spirits listened to her words over and over, giggling with delight as they bottled it next to the wish of the boy who had come to their waters so many times.


End file.
